Islam Critiqued is intrigued by an individual; who is al samiri?

In answer to the video "The Lowing Calf: Mystical Background to Surah 20"

The samiri was thus the instigator and builder of the golden calf. When a person is given a designation ending with the letter "i" it is a known literary device aimed at creating a laqb/association, between that person and an entity, abstract or concrete such as a tribe, location, profession, mindframe or behavior.

The root s-m-r means to spend the night in conversation, with a negative connotation. This fits the Quranic context and the deceptive behavior ascribed to the samiri. See for example 23:67 where the word is used in a similar sense. Al samiri is thus associating a specific behavior to a person.

A person from Samerah is also called samiri, not because people from that location have an implicit connection with the meaning of the root but because following the arabization of the Hebrew Shomiron (Samaria in English) into Samerah, the only possible triliteral root of the word becomes s-m-r.

The association of samiri with samerah in certain Quran commentaries is purely arbitrary and devoid of contextual support. Going back to ibn Abbas, the commentators have had various opinions as regards the samiri's ethnicity; some have said he was an Egyptian immigrant from Kirman, others that he was from Bajarma. The fact is there is no indication the Quran makes reference to ethnicity by calling the person "al-samiri".

The parallel between samiri and a deceitful behavior, which happens to be the meaning of the root word as well as the description of the person in the direct context, is the more obvious intent. By speaking of the samiri, the Quran, in accordance with its self proclaimed function of being the muhaymin/guardian of the truth, is interested in exposing the reality of the golden calf incident to the Israelites that have unjustly and convolutedly blamed Aaron for it. It does so by describing the machinations that led to it, by a misleading individual that literally and in accordance with the meaning of the word, would hold conversations in the dark, away from Aaron's sight. The Quran is not even interested in the actual name of the individual, rather his behavior which it ascribes to him as a label.

Aaron had been given the responsibility of watching over the community in Moses' absence, the samiri had to conspire in secret, casting his suggestions, spreading rumours and falsehoods. He eventually deceived a portion of people that became bold and numerous enough to confront Aaron and those with him, with the latter fearing it was too late to react forcefully against them without risking the implosion of the whole community.

It seems, from his confrontation with Moses, that al samiri was seeking attention from the community and envied Moses' status as a hero, a prophet and leader. He seized the opportunity during Moses' absence to try and supplant him as a leader and prophet. The Israelites' decision to get rid of their precious ornaments was key in initiating his deception.

Jewish tradition agrees with this in so far as the foreigners that had left Egypt with them began spreading the word around that Moses would never return and that they should consequently choose another leader to be their intermediary with God. When the Israelites, at Aaron's behest, began gathering their precious ornaments, it was these same foreigners that began "through their knowledge of magic", as their tradition asserts, to make the melting pot assume the form of a golden calf.

In the Quran however, in light of what is said about the samiri, Aaron had no hand in contributing to the sin, neither from close or far. He was neither a passive and silent witness, nor the one to have fashioned the idol with his hands as in the Torah account. He was a prophet who never committed shirk in his life 6:84-90 and who was thus part of the righteous among Moses' people 7:159. The Israelites refused listening to his repeated and persistent calls to abandon the worship of the idol and had almost slain him for that so he finally stepped back along with those opposed to the practice, fearing not only for his life but for the cohesion of a community under his responsibility, that had just been forcibly pulled out of the crooked path of idolatry

20:99"Thus do We relate to you (some) of the news of what has gone before; and indeed We have given to you a Reminder from Ourselves".

As stated above, Harun, who was left to watch over them in Moses' absence, pleaded with them to renounce idolatry 20:90. While some came back to their senses and remorsefully asked God's forgiveness (not forgiven yet) 7:148-9 others violently resisted and refused to desist until Moses' return 7:150,20:91. 

Following his return and wrathful scolding, Moses announced 2 punishments, starting with the instigator, condemned to be a social outcast and who would himself have to warn people not to interact with him. The samiri himself admitted that his deed was no mistake, rather was premeditated, wilfully executed, conforming to his deepest inner desires

20:96"My soul commended me".

The same phrase is used by Jacob when he accused his sons of deliberately getting rid of Joseph 12:18,83. This brazen statement conforms to his attitude as wanting to present himself as an alternate leader, knowledgeable, aware of his conduct and justified for his behavior. He could not be left among the Israelites anymore and risk further corrupting the people. Moses might not have applied the Biblical capital punishment for idolatry as it is an ordinance to the Jews only. 

The second punishment was thus directed to the community, with the divine order of slaying those that insisted in their sin up to Moses' return. This put the resolve and penitence of those that had desisted prior to Moses' return, to the test. The others were disgraced in this world, as well as inflicted with God's wrath, executed by the hand of their own people and family 2:51-4,7:152-3. This was obviously no straight forward task to accomplish. Besides the heavy emotional factor, it would have taken time to designate, apprehend, execute one's own people. It was a mercy from Allah upon Moses and the repentent sinners that the process was interrupted at some point. Allah summoned Moses and 70 elders of the community (a reoccuring theme in the Torah Ex24,Num11) to seek forgiveness. At that point of meeting, Allah demonstrates His anger at the deed of their people 7:155 but follows by declaring that His Will, in terms of what He does with His creatures is free from any constraints. He may remove His decreed punishment at any point, in accordance with His boundless mercy 

7:156"but My mercy encompasses all things. So I will decree it [especially] for those who fear Me and give zakah and those who believe in Our verses". 

Here Allah explains to Moses and the 70 what is required of their people for the punishment to be suspended, and by extension, to interrupt their own trial of having to slaughter the apostates among their people. In the HB no reference is made of those that had repented prior to Moses' return, neither of the loving biblical God mercifully suspending the execution of the apostates, as eloquently found in the Quran. Instead God finishes off with a plague the remaining sinners that survived the sword of their brethren the day before.  At the golden calf incident, prior to Moses pleading for the community, God says 

Ex32:10"Now leave Me alone, and My anger will be kindled against them so that I will annihilate them, and I will make you into a great nation". 

Everyone besides Moses it seems, was implicated, from close or far with idolatry. God then reconsiders what He would have normally done, which is to wipe out everyone at once, leaving it to the Israelites themselves to purge their ranks from those more directly involved in the sin. 3000 apostates were slaughtered in a day, with many more marked for death pending execution. The second day, thinking enough was done to earn the remaining guilty forgiveness, Moses intercedes once more but is rejected, as the chapter ends with the statement that "the Lord struck the people with a plague, because they had made the calf that Aaron had made".

A similar situation occurs with the incidents of the scouts. The Israelites anger YHWH again, He decides to wipe everyone out, Moses intercedes, but only gets a delayed punishment. Instead of exterminating the whole nation right away, God decreed for them a 40 years desert wandering during which the land would be entirely prohibited to enter. The purpose was to eliminate the generation of guilty, making place for others that would in turn be tried with the privilege of entering the blessed land, together with those that had not shown distrust in God at the initial command Numb14:1-39. Through this 40 years "slow death" God caused a separation between the obedient and the defiant as reflected in Moses' prayer in the Quran 5:25. Although Moses accepted God's decree, understanding that the guilty only got what they deserved, it nevertheless grieved him to see them in that condition "grieve not for the iniquitous".

As a side note, the expression "aqtulu anfusaqum", Kill oneself does not necessarily mean suicide, but mostly the community killing members of the same community. The same for making oneself leave in 4:66 means making members of the same community leaver their houses or the territory or area where they are.

Interestingly, the HB states that those that sinned during the incident were never forgiven and consequently killed yet it is claimed that Aaron wasnt. Besides this, it is also stated that he was given the charge of the sanctuary and the office of priesthood Numbers18 yet he was the one, together with the foreigners among them, that allegedly made the calf that the idolaters requested. Talmudic scholars explain this by attributing his participation in the incident to his peace-loving character, constructing the idol in order to prevent dissension among the people and attempting to gain time until Moses' return. Why would anyone, let alone a prophet of God, think that reintroducing idol worship to a community that was in the process of abandoning it and whose hearts were deeply imbued with it, is a lesser harm than causing a separation between those prone to goodness (the vast majority according to the Bible) who would thus be clearly and unambiguously guided, and the guilty (a mere 1% of the whole) that persist in their wrongdoings despite all they had witnessed until now? This carried the risk of sinking the whole community back into idol worship.

Following the incident, Moses came back to his senses and picked up the tablets 7:154. They werent broken as in the HB account and hence no occasion for another 40 nights communion with God was necessary Ex34. At that second 40 nights communion with God, Moses would be taught how his people should make amends for their sin, through repentance and prayer. New tablets of the law will be handed to him Ex33:21,Ex34:1-28 and would later be preserved inside the Ark of the covenant 1Kings8:9.

At that point Aaron survives the divine wrath despite being the very builder of the idol as per the HB. Originaly the firstborn in a family was to serve as a priest, regardless of his tribal origin. But after the incident in which all Israelite tribes had been involved to different degrees, all were disqualified from this function, which was then given exclusively and as an everlasting ordinance to the only tribe that had no involvement in the sin, the Levites descendants from Aaron Ex27:21,28:1-43,Num3:12. Yet Aaron was was actively involved in the incident.

Islam Critiqued finds a Quranic passage hard to grasp; Moses, Aaron, Samiri and the mooing calf?

In answer to the video "The Lowing Calf: Mystical Background to Surah 20"

Moses had left his people hastily at the perspective of meeting the Almighty. He left them under the supervision of Aaron but warned his brother against their tendency to rebel, telling him to steadfastly maintain the position of truth in the face of potential opposition  7:142-3,20:83-4. As his 40 days of communion with God came to an end, he was told to go back to them to confront their rebellion Ex32:1,7-20,Quran2:51-2,7:148-156,20:85-97.

Upon seeing them, worshipping the idol, Moses was overtaken by anger and grief, threw down the tablets and, according to the Torah, broke them Ex32:19. In his rage, he grabbed his brother Aaron's head violently as if he was about to beat him, until Aaron pleaded with him and explained why he could not prevent them from rebelling 7:150,20:94.

Moses did not think that his brother, a prophet like him, had taken part in the sin, rather, on top of his moment of extreme anger, he was upset at what he assumed was his brother's lack of leadership and ability to abide by his prior warnings as regards the rebellious people. Once Moses heard Aaron's explanation, he sought Allah's covering/ghafr for him and his brother 7:150-2. No willful act of rebellion, or sin, is attributed to either Moses or Aaron in this passage. But Moses felt that as a leader, he and his brother may have come short in their responsibilities and thus asked to be forgiven for their potential shortcomings. God is described with the word "ghafur", stemming from Gh-F-R meaning covering something. That covering can be for the purpose of hiding, or protecting, as well as both. The implication is that God provides a covering upon the person to hide the sins of the past in case there were any 5:65 all the while providing a protection from the potential sins of the future, by increasing the person's spirituality. It is up to the believer to maintain that covering of protection throughout his life, elsewhere referred to as the garment of God-consciousness 7:26. If he loses it, he is again exposed to moral and spiritual failure. His past sins will remain hidden/forgiven but the future ones will have to be rectified 

14:10"He calls you to forgive for you OF your sins". 

This, as a side note, strikes at the notion of guaranteed salvation and forgiveness from sins -past and future- which is propounded by certain belief systems and more particularly Christianity.

The believers and prophets have always asked God to provide them with ghafr, the covering that hides and/or protects. It comes with merit as often repeated in the HB Ps23:1,85:3 but its implications far surpass in value the level of merit needed to obtain it. God only requires in exchange sincerity and resolve in walking aright. The correct mindframe, as exemplified with the prophets who constantly sought the ghafr from Allah, is to feel that one's righteous actions are defective, that they could always be improved since nobody can claim perfection of action besides God 47:19. As reported in the NT

 Mk10:18"“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone". 

By seeking the ghafr from Allah, the believer shows his humility so that Allah might accept one's imperfect deeds done with sincerity and to please Him, and cover their inherent shortcomings.

Following Moses' prayer, those guilty were pointed out by God as deserving of severe punishment, showing that Aaron and Moses had no direct responsibility in the incident 7:152.

The Torah blames the prophet Aaron whom Moses appointed over them during his absence Ex32, a prophet chosen by God per the Quran and the HB itself to assist Moses in his mission against Pharaoh and his oppressive tyrants, yet he supposedly does the exact opposite under the pressure of some Israelites. The Quran says the Israelites' own hidden love for idols that was ingrained in them during their captivity, was stirred and brought to light by a crafty and deceitful person whom it refers to as "the samiri", the true instigator of the incident.

In addition to hardening Pharaoh's heart so that he rejects the divine signs and is consequently destroyed and the enslaved Israelites set free, YHWH commands Moses to tell the Israelites to deceive every Egyptian they could reach, into "lending" them their precious belongings like silver, gold objects, as well as expensive garments, so that they "do not go empty handed". YHWH assures Moses that the Egyptians will not only be influenced into accepting the Israelites' request, but that they will also be eager to give out more than demanded "and you shall empty out Egypt" Ex3:21-22,11:2,12:35-36.

The Quran mentions the presence of ornaments in the Israelites' possession during their exile but doesnt give any credence to the story. One might ask why would God issue such an unpractical command and burden them with all sorts of unnecessary load as they set themselves out for a long and difficult journey in the desert? It is hard not to see yet again, the hand of the scribes giving a divine warrant to their own sinful decisions and actions. An interesting thing to note is that in some rabbinical commentaries of the Hebrew Bible, some see in Prov10:8 which says "The wise-hearted takes commandments, but he who talks foolishly will weary" an implicit reference to the incident, with Moses being the "wise-hearted", busy with the commandements while the rest of the Israelites were plundering their masters.

In the Quran, it precisely is that burdensome nature of all these belongings, that were actually loots, that is stated to have been among the factors that led to the golden calf incident. In Moses' absence, they felt

"loaded with the burdens of the [Egyptian] people's ornaments, so we cast them (in fire), and thus did the Samiri throw".

Besides obviously being a physical burden, these possessions were more so of a spiritual and moral burden that gradually dawned upon the Israelites, and so they decided to get rid of those sinfully acquired ornaments. They therefore did not initially throw the ornaments with the purpose of moulding a golden calf out of them, until the Samiri entered the scene and placed that idea in their mind, convincing them he would build the calf idol for them

"So he brought forth for them a calf, a (mere) body, which had a mooing sound, so they said: This is your god and the god of Musa, but he forgot".

As stated, the Samiri in addition craftily designed it so that a lowing sound would come out of it, probably produced by wind effects entering the hollow body in order to delude the ignorant and simple people. Ancient people tried giving a semblant of life to their idols, sometimes in a naive manner, simply carving in them eyes or ears

7:197-8"And those whom you call upon other than Him can neither help you, nor help themselves. And if you call them to guidance, they do not hear; and you see them looking towards you, but they do not see".

At other times they were very crafty at animating their idols and the Israelites were no exception, including the "foreigners" that left Egypt with them and that counted among them, according to the Zohar, all the magicians that were impressed and could not replicate Moses' miracles. The Hebrew Bible itself speaks of non-Jews during the exodus, described with a word evoking a vast number, "the multitudes", Ex12:37-38,Numb11:4,15:15-16,Deut1:16. Archeology has shown traces of Egyptians in Canaan and their presence is mentioned at the beginning of Israel's invasion of that land Josh8:35. They most probably were the non-Israelites who are depicted as having heeded Moses' warnings before the exodus, and feared the true God whom Moses spoke of Ex9:20.

The Quran too passively alludes to these non Israelites that followed Moses, in accordance with his function as a liberator not only to the Israelites but also to anyone living in spiritual bondage under Pharao. Among those non-israelites that believed in Moses, the Quran mentions a courageous man from Pharao's close circle, most probably Egyptian, and who was able to escape 40:38-45, as well as the magicians  who came from various cities of the kingdom 26:36-7. They are sentenced to death following their conversion, but given Pharao's immediate concern of chasing Moses and those that fled with him, as well as the Quran's silence on whether the sentence was carried out, whether fully, in part or not at all, one can conjecture that some of those repentent magicians were able to flee with Moses.

As regards the craftiness of ancient people in animating their idols, we read a passage in Ezekiel, where the prophet is transported to Jerusalem and made to see the pagan practices introduced into the Temple

Ezek8:14"And He brought me to the entrance of the gate of the house of the Lord that is to the north, and behold there the women were sitting, making the Tammuz weep".

Rashi explains that "There was an image that they would heat up from the inside, and its eyes, which were of lead, would melt from the heat of the fire, and it would appear as though it was weeping, and they would say,

“It is asking for an offering.” “Tammuz” is an expression of heating...ie making the heated [god] weep".

Similarly during the course of their history they had household gods called "teraphim" which were made to emit sounds that the diviners were able to decipher Ezek21:26,Zech10:2.

The samiri would later even claim divine authority, when confronted by Moses; he was visited by an unseen messenger and had sprinkled on the idol the dust collected from the ground on which he walked, a gesture which in his mind, and that of the mislead Israelites, gave divine sanction to the golden calf worship 20:95-6. IT is interesting noting that there is an old tradition among the Israelites ascribing special power to the dust in the footprints of a saintly individual

"a certain woman tried to take dust from beneath the feet of R. Hanina to cast a spell over him to kill him" (Rashi)

Regarding the sound, the Quran of course isnt saying it was emited at the idol's own behest

7:148"Did they not see that it could neither speak unto them nor guide them in any way?" 20:89"Did they not see that it could not return to them any saying and that it could not possess for them any harm or benefit?". 

This however immediately seduced the Israelites whose

2:93"hearts were soaked with the calf because of their disbelief". 

It is a well known fact even within their tradition, that the Egyptian religions (which included the worship of some bovines like the bull), superstitions, astrology and witchcraft had badly influenced them during their captivity. The adoption of these practices reflects in their writings and Talmudic tradition where for example they attribute Pharaoh's command to cast all newborn into the water the day Moses was born, to the Egyptian astrologers' statement that the savior of Israel has been born Ex1:22. In another oral tradition (believed to have been revealed at Sinai along with the Torah), astrologers are again credited for making a correct prediction following baby Moses' ripping a jewel off Pharaoh's crown; Moses will be a threat to the king's rule. Throughout their biblical history, many incidents are explained in their oral tradition, through the lens of witchcraft or sorcery, for example Rashi explains the reason for God's order to massacre the Amalekites as well as their "ox and sheep, camel and ass" because they were sorcerers with the ability to transform into the above mentioned animals.

Long after the exodus and in the times of king Saul down to Solomon and many generations later when the vast majority of them had reverted to polytheism, going as far as indulging in human sacrifice, the community was still involved in those kinds of occult sciences 1Sam28:3,2Kings17:15-17,Isa2:6,Ezek13:18 and the scriptures themselves give credence to some of those practices, like necromancy as in 1Sam28:14-20 where a witch is credited with the ability of summoning the souls of the dead, even the souls of prophets. Again the rabbinical commentaries state that during the time of Isaiah, the monthly prognosticators had a vision but not entirely clear of what was destined to come Isa47:13.

Just as the Quran in the context of the story, eloquently speaks of their hearts being soaked with the love of an idol, Aaron in the HB is aware of that pre-disposition

Ex32:22"Let not my lord's anger grow hot! You know the people, that they are disposed toward evil".

God Himself later on through the prophet Ezekiel would remind them of their ingratitude during the exodus when, despite the downpouring of divine favors after another

Ezek20:16"their heart went constantly after their idols".

The Quranic expression of their hearts being "soaked with the calf" becomes all the more appropriate when one considers how they quickly and eagerly abandoned, in great majority, their pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem and preferred bowing down to the golden calves built by Jeroboam, the king of Israel, who built them in 2 different temples away from the Jerusalem Temple of the kingdom of Judah with which he was in competition 1Kings12. Jeroboam originally used the crafty argument that the Jerusalem Temple was too far to many of them, yet their "soaking" with the love of the calf gave them enough courage to even travel till the furthest boundaries of the land, in Dan, to worship the golden calf built there, and perpetuated the practice for many generations after Jeroboam's death. The prophet Hosea would thus lament in that period, in reference to the heavy inclination of their hearts for idolatry

Hos8:4-5"..[with] their silver and their gold they made themselves idols..how long will they be unable to cleanse themselves?"  

The Quran relates how their eagerness to bow down before false gods manifested itself prior to the golden calf incident, at the beginning of their exodus, even while Moses was in their midst and before his 40 nights/days absence 7:138-148. This is in stark contrast to the Egyptian sorcerers summoned by Pharao to defeat Moses, who instantly declared their faith and persisted despite the cruel torments they were threatened with 7:120-6. They hadnt seen anything in terms of miracles, besides the staff into snake, as compared to the ungrateful Israelites.

When the Israelite nation had reached total spiritual collapse, prompting divine destruction through the hands of the Assyrians, the Hebrew Bible describes in very telling terms their spiritual condition; not only had they abandoned the straight path but they "despised" it and anything associated with it, going as far as doing 2Kings17

"what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, to anger Him"

The prophet Micah was among those sent to warn them of their impending doom, but he could not but lament over te spiritual state of his nation thus

Micah7:1-2"Woe is to me, for I am as the last of the figs, 

like the gleanings of the vintage; there is no cluster to eat; the first ripe fig my soul desires. The pious have perished from the land, and there is no upright among men".

In many other places it speaks of them acting "against" God or "provoking" Him knowingly Isa1:4,3:8-9,Jer7:18etc. The prophet Jeremiah used another imagery, just as strong as the Quran's "soaking of their hearts" to refer to their deep love for idolatry and all kinds of polytheistic practices

Jer17:1-2"The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, with a diamond point, engraved on the tablet of their heart. As they remember their children, [so do they remember] their altars, and their asherim by the green trees upon the high hillocks". 

As an interesting parallel, while the Quran speaks of their hearts, their innermost selves being figuratively filled or soaked with attraction for idolatry, and more precisely the calf, the HB narrates how following his confrontation with them, Moses, in his disgust of them made them to be physically filled with that very calf

Ex32:20"Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in fire, ground it to fine powder, scattered [it] upon the surface of the water, and gave [it to] the children of Israel to drink".

No matter the miracles God performed for the Israelites, they still never truly believed. They could hardly cleanse themselves from their inclination for idolatry as seen in Joshua's address to them as reported in the Hebrew Bible, long after Moses' death Joshua24. Jeremiah later confirmed this fact Jer2:8,8:8,7:18 and history proves their constant straying from monotheism, almost complete disregard for their covenant and scriptures, which started very early on and apparently continued up to the times of Hosea, long after Moses Hos8:5,10:5. The Quran in 5:78 echoed their scolding  by their prophets, from Moses to David Ps78 down to Jesus Matt12,23.

In his lifetime, this tendency caused Moses immense frustration

Deut29:4"You have seen all that the LORD did in the land of Egypt before your very eyes to Pharaoh and all his servants and to all his land; the great testings your own eyes have seen, and those great signs and wonders. But not even at the present day has the LORD yet given you a mind to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear"

and God addresses them in a similar tone

Numb14:11"The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?".

Moses is reported to have said that despite witnessing all these signs

"But not even at the present day has the LORD yet given you a mind to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear".

"The Mosaic religion was initially a monolatrous religion; while the Hebrews are enjoined to worship no deity but YHWH, there is no evidence that the earliest Mosaic religion denied the existence of other gods. In fact, the account of the migration contains numerous references by the historical characters to other gods, and the first law of the Decalogue is, after all, that no gods be put before YHWH, not that no other gods exist. While controversial among many people, most scholars have concluded that the initial Mosaic religion for about two hundred years was a monolatrous religion. For there is ample evidence in the Hebrew account of the settlement of Palestine, that the Hebrews frequently changed religions, often several times in a single lifetime." (jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Monolatry.html).